The Future Belongs to the Learning Agile

Jim Peters

Senior Client Partner, Global Head of Succession Management

Korn Ferry Hay Group

2

©COPYRIGHT 2013 Korn/Ferry International. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

• Introduction

• Business Context

• Leadership Potential

• Learning Agility• A personal assessment

• Applying Learning Agility

• A Practicum

• Developing Learning Agility

• Enterprise Agility

• Cases

The Agenda

IC

MO

MM

FL

MB

MBs

E

High professional.

High potential.

Adapted from The Leadership Pipeline (Charan, Drotter, & Noel (2001).

• Identified as HiPo in 1982.

• Guided through series of DIVAs.

• On list of 24 in 1994.

• List of 8 in 1997.

• List of 3 in 2000.

• Named CEO September 2001.

Jeffrey ImmeltCEO of General Electric

The Business Context

Executing business strategies in today’s VUCA world is challenging

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” - Charles Darwin

Growth in New and Emerging

MarketsInnovation

Mergers & Acquisitions

Customer LoyaltyConsolidation and

Restructuring

THE SMARTEST STRATEGY WILL

NEVER ACHIEVE THE GOAL WITHOUT

THE RIGHT PEOPLE TO EXECUTE IT.

Having the talent to execute your business strategy today and tomorrow

TalentSuccession

Strategy

High performers aremore valuable.

Excellence in HR practices increases:

Source: BCG, 2012 Source: McKinsey

3.5x’s

Revenue

2.1x’sProfit

2x’s

Increased productivity in

operations roles

Increased profit in general

management roles

Increased revenue in sales

roles

40%

49%

67%

Some interesting statistics.

56% report

a significant

shortage of

leaders for key

positions.1

46% have

no systemic

process to

identify and

develop future

leaders.2

40% of

high-potential

promotions

end in failure.3

1. Deloitte (2010).2. IED/Stanford University (2014).3. Harvard Business Review (2010).

Nearly 40% of internal job moves made by people identified by their companies as “high potentials” end in failure.

Harvard Business Review

84% of talent management professionalsagree that demand for high-potential employees has increased in the past five years due to growth and competitive pressure.

47%believe their current talent pool does not meet their needs.

Source: UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Study

65%are not confident in their ability to fill mission-critical roles.

Source: UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Study

Organizations agree… identifying high-potential employees is important, yet

only 9% said they had a systematic

process in place to identify them.

Making high-potential criteria measureable can be invaluable… offering non-emotional measurements to managers and senior leaders, many of whom may be “championing” candidates.

Source: UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Study

In the next 15 years, 75 million

baby boomers will retire.

That’s an average of 10,000

people leaving the workforce per

day.Pew Research Center

85% of North American and

Asian companies felt they

did not have enough

qualified successors in the

pipeline for key leadership

positions (Harvard, 2013)

85%

Do companies really misidentify their high-potential talent as much as 40% of the time?

• Who has the potential to lead?

• The frequent false positive.

• A case of misidentification.

• The cost of misidentification.

• Finding potential with more precision.

Leadership Potential

Leadership Potential

• An individual’s capacity and interest to develop the qualities required for effective performance in a significantly1 more challenging leadership role

1Typically, a senior executive role or a role 2 or more levels above the leader’s current role

… but, high potentials are

mostly high performers.

High potentials

Not high potentialsNot high performers

High performers

High performers are not always

high potentials…

Identifying high-potential talent.

Source: High-Potential Management Survey, Corporate Leadership Council, 2005

93% of high

potentials are high

performers.

7% of high

potentials are not

high performers.

71% of high

performers are not

high potentials.

29% of high

performers are

high potentials.

Assessment of leadership potential.

Effective at problem solving.

Personality factors aligned with success.

Motivated to lead others.

A track record of relevant experiences.

Lack of or managed derailment risks.

The ability to learn from experience.

Clear view on strengths and weaknesses.

Leadership dispositions

Aptitude for logic and reason

Engaged by leadership

Track record

Minimalderailment risk

Learn fromexperience

Self-awareness

Learning Agility

Learning agility is the ability and willingness tolearn from experience, and subsequently apply

that learning to perform successfully under new or first-time conditions.

SELF AWARENESS

Self-Assured/Content

• Believes “you know yourself better than others”.

• Doesn’t care much about how others think of him and her.

• Is self-assured about own capabilities.

• Values people who simply accept others as they are.

• Focuses on the present and the here and now-does not worry

about the future or past

• Has a high regard for self

• Tends to be a very private person, not disclosing his or her views,

likes and dislikes.

Those with this type of Self-Awareness

• Knows personal strengths, weakness and blind spots.

• Understands self and is not surprised by others’ feedback.

• Has an accurate assessment of own performance level.

• Knows the causes of his or her own feelings or moods.

• Actively seeks and responds well to feedback.

• Can be candid to a fault about self.

agility...Those with this type of

MENTAL AGILITY

Those with this type of

agility...Those with this type of

Depth of Mental Agility

• Enjoy going deep into a process or specialism.

• Value consistency and order.

• Prefer proven techniques and approaches.

• Identify the one best answer based on current data and past

experience.

• Create value through embedding repeatable processes.

Breadth of Mental Agility

• Are very curious.

• Get to the root causes.

• Have a broad perspective.

• Find parallels and contrasts.

• Question conventional wisdom.

• Find solutions to tough problems.

PEOPLE AGILITY

Those with this type of

agility...Those with this type of

Consistent People Agility

• Treat everyone the same.

• Avoid conflict with others.

• Like clarity of roles and responsibilities.

• Behave according to personal values and their own

code of conduct.

• Prefer to be held accountable for their individual

contributions.

Flexible People Agility

• Are open minded.

• Are politically agile.

• Can play many roles.

• Enjoy helping others succeed.

• Are comfortable with diversity.

• Handle conflict constructively.

CHANGE AGILITY

Those with this type of

agility...Those with this type of

Structured Change Agility

• Value continuity and reliability.

• Understand the value of honed processes to drive value.

• Tend to be highly structured and process oriented.

• Carefully collect and analyse data to be sure of success.

• Ensure consensus before initiating change.

• Value the importance of perfection and certainty.

Experimental Change Agility

• Enjoy tinkering with things.

• Strive for continuous improvement.

• Often introduce new perspectives.

• Can take the heat and pressure of change.

• Understand the impact of change and how to manage it.

RESULTS AGILITY

Those with this type of

agility...Those with this type of

Dependable Results Agility

• Are deliberate, conscientious and focused in delivery.

• Prefer accomplishing tasks one by one.

• Are sensitive to deadlines and can be counted on to

deliver on time and budget.

• Focus on delivering high quality to clearly defined

standards.

• Are dependable and reliable.

Resourceful Results Agility

• Build high-performing teams.

• Are flexible and adaptable.

• Perform well in first-time situations.

• Have drive and personal presence.

• Accomplish things against the odds.

Applying Learning Agility to Talent Management

Performance/potential matrix

H

L

M

M H

Potential/Agility

Perf

orm

ance

(o

ver

tim

e)

• A valuable tracking tool that is useful for differentiating talent and managing human capital.

• It’s not enough to differentiate in assessment – you must apply differential development!

The Performance/Potential Matrix

TOO SOON:

4 97

2 85

1 63

DEPTH EXPANDABLE BREADTH

CO

NSI

STEN

TLY

EXC

EED

ING

CO

NSI

STEN

TLY

MEE

TIN

GA

PP

RO

AC

HIN

GO

R B

ELO

W

Potential/AgilityDepth Breadth

Sust

ain

ed P

erfo

rman

ce

CO

NSI

STEN

TLY

EXC

EED

ING

CO

NSI

STEN

TLY

MEE

TIN

GA

PP

RO

AC

HIN

GO

R B

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Learning Agility - depth learners

DEPTH

Learning Agility

is the ability to figure out

something new and perform

well even under unfamiliar and

challenging conditions

Sustained Performance

is the ability to consistently

deliver results over the last 2-3

years, taking the

environmental context into

account

• Recognized functional,

technical experts

• Love what they do; may define

themselves by their specialized

or unique capabilities

• Have depth of organizational

knowledge in their field

• May be widely recognized for

their expertise outside the

company

Potential/AgilityDepth Breadth

Sust

ain

ed P

erfo

rman

ce

EXPANDABLE

Learning Agility – expandable learners

2

9

• Demonstrates

performance in one or

more areas like

businesses, geographies,

functions or specialized

skills

• Readily adapts to new

situations and areas

• Recognized for knowledge

beyond their original area

of expertise

• Can step into a functional

role when an expert is

needed

• Can lead in more than one

area or specialty to fill

gaps where the talent pool

is scarce

Potential/AgilityDepth Breadth

Sust

ain

ed P

erfo

rman

ce

Sustained Performance

is the ability to consistently

deliver results over the last 2-3

years, taking the

environmental context into

account

Learning Agility

is the ability to figure out

something new and perform

well even under unfamiliar and

challenging conditions

BREADTH

CO

NSI

STEN

TLY

EXC

EED

ING

CO

NSI

STEN

TLY

MEE

TIN

GA

PP

RO

AC

HIN

GO

R B

ELO

W

Learning Agility – breadth learners

• Perform well under new, tough

conditions

• Aspire to work across functions,

geographies and environments

• Deal well with ambiguity/complexity

• Flexibility to learn new functions

• Clever problem solvers; think

strategically

• Change behavior or approach easily

to adapt to situational needs

• Have wide interests (highly curious)

• Like to try different approaches

Sustained Performance

is the ability to consistently

deliver results over the last 2-3

years, taking the

environmental context into

account

Learning Agility

is the ability to figure out

something new and perform

well even under unfamiliar and

challenging conditions

Potential/AgilityDepth Breadth

Sust

ain

ed P

erfo

rman

ce

A Practicum

Leonardo DaVinci

Amadeus Mozart Benjamin Franklin

Henry Ford Alexander Graham Bell

Thomas AlvaEdison

Developing Learning Agility

35

Business Use Only

4 97

2 85

1 63

DEPTH EXPANDABLE BREADTH

CO

NSI

STEN

TLY

EXC

EED

ING

CO

NSI

STEN

TLY

MEE

TIN

GA

PP

RO

AC

HIN

GO

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ELO

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Critical knowledge jobs

Fast track for challenging

assignments

Reinforce

expanding interests

Fast-track, high-risk/

multi-functional

assignments

Build functional specialty

and increase challenges

Build future utility Increase challenging/

multi-functional

assignments

Performance

improvement plan

Careful next roles/

assignment

Developmental jobs

COACHING TOLEVERAGE EXPERTISE

COACHING FOR HIGHER PERFORMANCE

COACHING FOR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT

COACHING FOR BROADER/ ENTERPRISE-WIDE LEADERSHIP

Learning AgilityDepth Breadth

Sust

ain

ed P

erfo

rman

ce

Model of Learning Development

70%

20%

10%

assignments

people

courses

A more challenging job These set the developmental

challenge. Real-life important job

demands trigger the motivation to

learn.

70%A developmental task

while in current job

Role models, coaches,

mentorsThese fuel continuous improvement.

Without frequent repeated feedback

and coaching, change doesn’t take

place.

20%

Feedback

Courses and readings These provide the raw material of

learning to do something different.

Without some new to-dos, nothing

meaningful can occur.

10%Personal Learning

70/20/10

Some Case Studies

Case study: The CEO in 2025.

Potential/Agility

Perf

orm

ance

• Functional leaders.

• Technical experts.

• Focus on self-awareness.

• Exposure to develop and apply Learning Agility.

• Leading accounts or operations.

• Leading managers.

• Need opportunities to demonstrate Learning Agility and push to expand interests.

• General managers.

• Leading leaders.

• Focus on strategic agility and change agility.

• Potential for enterprise leader.

• Strategic exposure.

Development priorities:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7 9

8

Case Study – Novartis

Background

Novartis employ over 125,000 people globally and have approximately 400 leadership positions spread around the world. The company was formed through the merger of Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz in 1996; at this point 80% of the new organization’s executive positions were filled externally.

Approach

Novartis needed to manage its leadership pipeline and become less reliant upon external talent to fulfil its top positions. Since 2000, Novartis has adopted the KF Talent Review process and has since refined this approach to use Learning Agility and the KF Assessment of Leadership Potential / Seven Signposts to provide a richer look at potential. As such, over 25,000 ‘Talking Talent’ sessions have been conducted, 2000 employees are placed in new roles per annum and more than 3,000 managers have used the ‘Talking Talent

Methodology.

Outcome

The ‘Talking Talent’ methodology has become embedded and the business has seen the direct results of an effective talent review process. The ratio of build vs buy has shifted from 20:80 to 80:20 and now 70% of the top 400 mission critical roles have a ‘ready now’ successor. The process has gone deep into the talent pipeline, right the way down to 1st line manger, allowing the business to effectively map and identify ‘high-potential’, ‘high-professional’ and ‘high-performing’ talent.

“Every manager from the most junior

position right up to the executive

committee is assessed to identify their

skills and potential, and any gaps that will

need to be addressed before that person

can progress (20-25,000 people included

in our talent review process in any given

year).”

Chris Howarth, Global Head of Talent

Management and Organisation Development,

Novartis.

The Times features Korn Ferry Succession

“Korn Ferry’s framework has been particularly useful here, with its emphasis on learning agility and on recognizing everyone has potential.

We now get a rich picture of the talent in our organization, not just focusing leadership in the general management track, but also considering specialists, such as research scientists or manufacturing professionals.”

~Christopher HowarthGlobal Head of TM& OD

Novartis

• Learn, Unlearn and Relearn: How to Stay Current and Get Ahead, Forbes; 2/3/14: “Learning agility is the name of the game. Where the rules are changing fast, your ability to be agile in letting go of old rules and learning new ones is increasingly important. Learning agility is the key to unlocking your change proficiency and succeeding in an uncertain, unpredictable and constantly evolving environment, both personally and professionally.”

• How to Get a Job at Google, NY Times; 2/22/14: “…For every job, though, the No. 1 thing we look for is general cognitive ability, and it’s not I.Q. It’s learning ability. It’s the ability to process on the fly. It’s the ability to pull together disparate bits of information.”

Capitalizing on the Value of Learning Agility

“If you want one year of prosperity, grow grain.

If you want 10 years of prosperity, grow trees.

If you want 100 years of prosperity, grow people.”

CHINESE PROVERB

Q and A

Learning Agility Assessment

Self Assured 1 2 3 Self AwarenessDepth Mental Agility 1 2 3 Breadth Mental AgilityConsistent People Agility 1 2 3 Flexible People Agility Structured Change Agility 1 2 3 Experimental Change AgilityDependable Results Agility 1 2 3 Resourceful Results Agility

Total Score________________

Less than 5 Mathematically challenged5 Depth Learner6-10 Expandable Learner11-15 Breadth Learner

Please note: Completely unscientific assessment of learning agility